Falter
by z3ro cool
Summary: What if Cloud came home to grab some supplies a few days before Tifa and Marlene found his little camp in Aeris's church? One shot, implied Cloud/Tifa.


**Falter

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**Author's Note:** Just a what-if scenario. I threw together a list of 150 prompts over the weekend, and FFVII just has so much to work with.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

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Cloud pushed his goggles up onto his head as he walked in the back door of Seventh Heaven. It was late; everyone had gone to bed a long time ago. He had made sure before he entered, watching as one by one, the lights in the bar and the rooms upstairs went out. He just needed a few more things, and he didn't want to accidentally run into Marlene or Denzel who would ask too many questions. He didn't want to see that sad look on their faces when he would have to turn right around and leave them again.

He took off his boots to quiet his footsteps and quickly gathered a few more rolls of gauze from a side table. After tossing the gauze into his bag, he went to his desk to retrieve a spare battery for his cell phone and an extra set of goggles. These ones had a few too many scratches and were getting hard to see through.

Having found what he came for, Cloud stood in the center of the room, taking one last look around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. A pang of guilt hit him as he thought of Marlene and Denzel asleep upstairs. He would regret it if he didn't see them one last time before he left for good.

Making the silent trek up the stairs, he found himself at the door to the room that they now shared. Denzel had managed to kick all of his covers off, and Marlene was clinging to her blanket and stuffed chocobo – a gift from Barret during one of their trips to the Gold Saucer. Walking silently across the room, Cloud picked up the covers that Denzel had kicked off, and laid them over top of the sleeping boy. And just as quietly as he had come in, he left.

Tifa's door was closed. It was a creaky one, and he didn't want to risk waking her just to be able to see her once more. She would be fine without him, she always was. He continued on down the stairs.

_Gurgle. _His stomach was growling. Frowning, Cloud made a quick beeline for the fridge, wondering what Tifa might have on hand that he could take with him. Opening the door, he stooped low to peek behind the containers of milk and extra water, looking for something simple and quick that didn't require heating. He wasn't seeing much though. Tifa must not have had time to visit the market in the last few days.

"There's some leftover soup behind the eggs," a soft female voice said from the foot of the stairs. Tifa. Cloud closed the door to see her standing there in a pair of long shorts and a shirt that was far too big for her – probably one of his. She looked confused, and perhaps a little sad.

He frowned. "Did I wake you?" He thought he had been quiet enough. This wasn't how he had wanting things to go.

"No," she replied. "I got up to use the bathroom right before you walked in. Just bad timing on your part."

He sighed before stepping away from the fridge. "I didn't want to wake you or the kids. I'm leaving on a long delivery. I just wanted to stop by and get a few things before I left."

"It's one long delivery after another with you these days. Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?" She asked. There was a brief tinge of pain in her eyes that made him look at the floor. He hadn't wanted this at all. "It's late, you know. You could stay here tonight—"

"Tifa, please," he said, cutting her off. It had been almost a month since the last time he had seen her, and he didn't want to leave with memories of her being upset with him.

She hung her head and crossed her arms. "You're right. Goodnight, Cloud. I hope the delivery goes well. Maybe you can find some time for us next month."

Tifa started to turn and climb the stairs again, shoulders slightly slumped as though she had lost. In an instant, Cloud had crossed the room and grabbed her hand. She stopped moving, but refused to turn around. She didn't want him to know how much this was hurting her, or let him see the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"I love you," Cloud said softly, so softly in fact that for a moment she doubted he had even said it. "Please don't think that I don't. You wouldn't be more wrong."

Tifa pushed aside all of the questions that exploded through her mind with that statement. _Why is it too much to ask for you to stay tonight, if you love me so much? _ She gently squeezed Cloud's fingers that were wrapped around her own.

"I love you too," she replied, keeping her back to him so he wouldn't see a lone tear leave her eyes and snake its way down her cheek. "Come home safe."

Cloud watched her as she climbed the stairs, and waited to leave until he heard the sound of her bedroom door open and close. In an instant, he was gone.

Upstairs, Tifa wrapped herself around Cloud's pillow, taking in his scent as she finally allowed herself to cry. She sobbed for a few minutes before realizing that she hadn't heard the sound of Fenrir's engine pulling away. She wiped the tears from her face and rolled over.

Cloud stood in the door with one hand resting against the door frame. He pulled his goggles off his eyes and stared at the floor before addressing her. "Do you mind if—?"

Tifa rolled to one side of the bed, leaving enough space for Cloud to lie beside her. Neither of them spoke as Cloud crawled into bed and rested an arm over her stomach. Tifa draped a leg over his and wrapped herself around him. "Don't leave without saying goodbye."

Cloud pressed a kiss to her forehead that any other woman might have taken as an acknowledgment of her request. But Tifa knew that Cloud wouldn't be there when she woke in the morning, no matter how tightly she clung to him in the night.

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**Author's Note:** Yay, all done. Please review if you made it this far. Like I said, I've got 149 more prompts saved on my computer, so I'm going to be doing a lot of one-shots from now on. It's nice to know everyone's thoughts as I go forward.


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